Assistant coach Jon Scheyer has recorded eight episodes of his new offseason podcasts so far. The Blue Zone takes a look at some of the highlights from those episodes below. The full podcasts can be found here. Check back later in the offseason for further highlights from Scheyer's remaining episodes.
Amile Jefferson on trying to return to the court last season:
One of the biggest setbacks while I was in the cast was the cast was too tight and I had no idea, so when it finally came off, I had no feeling in my foot and that was the biggest thing that set me back. After that, trying to get back on the court, thinking, ‘I’ll be back for the [North] Carolina game, I’ll be back for the Louisville game…’ I kept setting goals in my mind, but then you try to walk up the steps and do something a little extra and you’re like, ‘Woah, I can’t go…’ As those games went by, I started plummeting into a hole and the only thing that got me out of it was seeing how our team fought.
Jeff Capel on substituting for head coach Mike Krzyzewski against Georgia Tech last season:
It was very strange, very weird. Since I’ve been back here at Duke, I always watch when Coach walks out for the game and it’s usually around the three-minute mark when he comes on the court…. I always say to myself, ‘I cannot imagine anyone else walking out.’ I’m 41 years old and he is Duke. That’s the only coach I’ve ever known at Duke, so for it to be me out there at Georgia Tech coaching that game, it was nerve-wracking. I was nervous… but the main thing was that we needed to win. Our team needed to needed to feel good again…. And our guys played their butts off.
Jay Bilas on his all-time Duke starting five:
Bobby Hurley would be the point guard. I’m not sure there’s ever been a point guard as good as him at Duke and there’s been some unbelievable point guards. I would put Johnny Dawkins at the two. We played together—maybe you could call me biased in that regard, but I can’t think of anybody better at both ends. Then, I would put Grant Hill at the three, Christian Laettner at the four, and I would probably put Elton Brand at the five—his ability to change ends, to score inside, and to step away, all of the things he could do. That would be a hell of a team.
Jabari Parker on his Duke all-time starting five:
Grant Hill…you’ve got to put Christian Laettner in there…Shane Battier—you’ve got to put him in because he’s a winner. One of my favorites was Seth [Curry] because I watched him the year before me get in there and shoot the lights out and I’m a fan of the guy…[And] Miles Plumlee—because I love his shoe game.
Gerald Henderson on his dunk against Maryland:
It’s up there [as one of my most vicious dunks.] I’ve had a few where I’ve gone through people and dunked—that one was more just taking off at a pivotal moment in the game. I can remember exactly what happened—Nolan [Smith] got hit on a ball screen. I don’t know if it was legal or illegal, but Nolan’s my boy. He got knocked out of the game and I was ticked off. I hated Maryland—I hated their fans, hated Greivis Vasquez—I couldn’t stand the way he played. Coach K said, ‘Look, I’m going to run corner for you, you’re going to put it in your right hand, and you’re going to dunk it.’ And I did exactly what he told me.
Justise Winslow on having to guard some of the NBA’s best as a rookie in 2015-16:
It happened fast. For me, we had our first game in Charlotte and not taking anything away from those guys, but the next two games, we went to Cleveland and then back to Miami to play the Houston Rockets—so LeBron [James] and James Harden back-to-back. It just hit me fast—[the Miami coaching staff] just threw me right into the fire. I remember playing good defense on [James,] but he went 4-for-4 on me, and the next day, we play the Rockets, [Harden] is euro-stepping, getting to the free-throw line. So that was one of the best things—my team trusted me, my coaching staff trusted me, but they kind of just threw me into the fire and that was the quickest way to learn.
Seth Curry on a road trip in the NBA versus a road trip in the NBA D-League:
It’s a huge difference. First of all, in the D-League, you’re flying commercial. You’re in the airport at six in the morning, you’ve got to find the first flight out on tight, small planes because you’re going to small cities. And then when you get there, you’re not driving on a bus like in [the NBA,] sometimes you’re in a van with somebody from the other team picking you up and taking you to your little motel, finding food on your own. The per diem is probably one-tenth of the NBA per diem—there’s a lot of differences.
Jahlil Okafor on returning to Durham this summer to work toward his undergraduate degree at Duke:
I was actually here when Gerald [Henderson] came back to do his final classes so that kind of motivated me to let me know that it’s possible because he’s an NBA guy. So seeing him on campus, walking from class, stopping to get lunch and all of those things really helped me out. And it’s fun—luckily, I have Grayson [Allen] in the class with me, so he’s able to help me out. You know how Duke is, it’s a special place—I’m not being hassled or bothered in class, I’m just another student.
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Twitter: @mpgladstone13
A junior from just outside Philadelphia, Mitchell is probably reminding you how the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year and that the Phillies are definitely on the rebound. Outside of The Chronicle, he majors in Economics, minors in Statistics and is working toward the PJMS certificate, in addition to playing trombone in the Duke University Marching Band. And if you're getting him a sandwich with beef and cheese outside the state of Pennsylvania, you best not call it a "Philly cheesesteak."